Don't Let Me Go
by CM-Twisted
Summary: Takes place directly after the summer finale. Mostly Lacey's POV and Dacey centric. Warning: mentions of suicide.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you don't want to come over? I'll even let you pick the musical we watch." Phoebe rocked back on her heels hoping Lacey would take up the offer to spend the night at her house. Lacey was her first real friend at Green Grove since her falling out with Regina, and she felt like such a horrible person for icing her out.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed. It's been a long day. Thanks, though," Lacey smiled extending her arms to her friend – her only friend as of that night. She had tried to text Danny to apologize for breaking the script at the diner, but he never responded.

"'Kay, well you know my number. Let me know if you change your mind." Lacey nodded and watched Phoebe leave before going back inside to tell her mother she was going to bed. When she walked into the family room, she saw her mom was giggling to someone on the phone. She figured it was probably a boyfriend, so she quickly mouthed "goodnight" and headed upstairs.

Her mind kept replaying her conversation with Phoebe. The car... the woman... the scratch... She started to wonder if she ever really knew Regina. They had been best friends, and yet Lacey had no idea about the secret life Regina had outside of school.

Collapsing on her bed she reached for her phone on the nightstand. She wanted to share the new information with Danny, but before she could start a text, her phone started going off. Squinting her eyes at the caller-id she saw it was Jo. Why? Had she finally decided to let Lacey explain things?

"Jo, hi." Lacey answered but was cut off by a very panicked Jo.

"Lacey turn on the news. Now."

"What? Why? What happened?" Lacey scrambled for her TV remote. Jo didn't need to answer. As soon as she turned the channel she saw a woman holding up his picture.

"I can't believe – I mean it couldn't – " Jo started talking, but Lacey tuned her out as she listened to the woman giving Danny's description. Her stomach sank to the floor.

"_Danny Desai is wanted for the murder of Regina Crane. He's on the run and we have reason to believe he's armed and dangerous. If you see him, contact the Green Grove police department immediately. Once again, do NOT approach him. He may be armed and dangerous."_

"Lacey? Lacey? Lacey are you there?" She heard Jo yelling at her through the phone.

"I have to go." Lacey barely managed to get the words out before hanging up and letting the phone fall out of her hands. How could this be happening and why was it happening to her? All she knew was that her entire world was crumbling around her and there was nothing she could do about it. After trying so hard to keep herself together for the past few weeks, she finally broke down, crying until she eventually fell asleep.

It was around one in the morning when she awoke to the sound of a thump in her room. Startled, she got out of bed and walked over to her window. She didn't remember leaving it open. Just as she was about to turn around, a strong hand clamped over her mouth. She wanted to kick and scream, but then she heard _his_ voice.

"Shhh. Lacey please... I'm not going to hurt you. Please don't scream." He whispered desperately, removing his hand when she calmed down. Before she could get over the shock, he continued speaking.

"Lacey... Lacey you have to believe me. Please... I don't know how my fingerprints were on the weapon. I swear I didn't..." He was pleading now. Not once in her life had she ever seen Danny look so genuinely scared.

"W-why did you come here?" That was all she was able to get out as she backed away from him toward her nightstand to turn on the light. Danny quickly pulled the curtains closed.

"I didn't know where else to go and I just... I just needed you to know that I didn't do it. I needed you to believe me." As he spoke, the conversation she had with Phoebe replayed one more time in her head. She knew something wasn't right.

"I believe you..." she said cautiously. She could his breathing calm and his eyes softened. He looked so innocent, childlike almost.

"You do?" Lacey nodded at him and looked at the clock realizing what time it was and how long he had been on the run.

"Where were you Danny? They've been looking for you since 9 last night." He pushed a loose strand of hair behind his ear and sighed.

"I went to the clubhouse. I needed time to think."

She looked him over for a moment, remembering what the woman on the news said.

"Why do they think you're armed and dangerous Danny? It's all over the news." She watched him as he lifted his shirt to reveal the revolver that was tucked into the waist of his pants.

"It was my dads. I had to have something in case they catch up to me." She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Are you..." she realized she was speaking too loud and hushed her voice, "Are you crazy?! You can't shoot the cops!"

"I wouldn't." he reassured her.

"Then why would you need – " The tired, broken smile on his face told her everything she needed to know. "No. No, Danny."

"I can't go to prison, Lacey... I can't. You don't understand what I went through in juvie..." His eyes darted away from her.

Now it was her turn to feel desperate. "So if you get caught, you just check out and leave everyone behind?!"

"I'm sorry – " She immediately cut him off, stepping closer until she had backed him against the wall. How could he be so calm about it? How could even think about it? Lacey was beginning to get angry.

"No. You don't get to come back into my—_our_ lives and then just rip yourself right back out, Danny. We can get through this. No matter what happens." He kept his eyes averted and shook his head.

"If they find me, I'll never see the light of day... I'll never see you again... I'll never be the same. Prison breaks people, Lacey." She could hear his voice threatening to crack.

"Just give me the gun, Danny. We can come up with a plan to keep them from finding you. At least until we can figure out who's behind this." She saw his jaw tighten, but he didn't move.

"Please... Do you trust me?" Her question sparked something in him and his eyes flicked up gazing deep into her own. He hesitated, but didn't take his eyes off of her as he slid the gun from his waistband and handed it to her. Lacey breathed a sigh of relief and backed away, putting the gun in the drawer of her nightstand.

When she returned to where she was standing in front of him, she couldn't help but pull him in for a hug; something they both needed. As soon as she did, she felt his shoulders start to shake. She held onto him until she was sure he was calmed down.

"You can stay here tonight, but we need to get some rest so we can figure things out tomorrow." Lacey still had to tell Jo and Danny about what Phoebe told her. She didn't know how much help it would be, but it was something. They needed to do more digging. However, making sure Danny was well hidden was first priority.

"Thank you. For everything." He gave her a slight smile and rubbed his burning and tired eyes. Normally he might feel ashamed for crying in front of someone, but he didn't care anymore. She wasn't just anyone and he couldn't hold it in anymore.

She rearranged the pillows on her bed so he would have space to sleep and gestured for him to get in bed next to her.

"You sure?" He bit his lip and laid down beside her. It wasn't the appropriate time, especially given the situation he was in, but he couldn't help but remember the last time he was in her bed.

"We're just sleeping. It's fine." To be honest, she was still mad at him for even thinking of abandoning her – them in such a way, but she understood that he was scared. She was scared for him. He was being framed for a murder he didn't commit and was at risk for spending the rest of his life locked away with the worst of men.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice he was already fast asleep. Rolling onto her side she watched him until she drifted off as well.

**A/N: Sorry this is so short, but I hope you guys enjoyed. I'm not sure if I'll continue this story, but I do have another chapter planned out in case I do. Reviews would be lovely. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews for the first chapter! I decided to go ahead and publish another one since you asked for one. I was going to put it up yesterday, but there were a few things I wanted to rewrite. I hope you enjoy chapter 2! Let me know what you think.**

"'Morning," Danny gave Lacey one of his charming half-smiles. He seemed to be in slightly better spirits, but the stress and exhaustion could be seen in his eyes.

"How long have you been awake?" She brushed her hair away from her face and checked the clock to see it was a quarter after 7.

"A while. I had to get my stuff out of the bushes before someone noticed." He nodded to the duffel bag that was now sitting by her window. She began to wonder how Danny knew about the warrant for his arrest and how he even had time to pack, but she decided she would ask him later. First she needed to come up with a way to tell Jo what was going on without Chief Masterson or anyone else finding out.

Both jumped when they heard a knock on the door. "Lacey, are you awake? We need to talk." Lacey could hear the concern in her mother's voice.

"Just a minute." She called out, jumping out of bed and shoving Danny toward her closet before quickly stuffing his bag under her bed. She took a deep breath before opening her door. She was about to say 'good morning' when her mom told her what she already knew.

"That monster that killed Regina Crane is on the run." Judy couldn't believe she had allowed her to be childhood friends with a psychopathic murderer as a child. Just the thought of it sent chills down her spine. Though she couldn't help but feel sorry for Karen.

"Yeah, I saw it on the news before I went to bed last night. Hopefully they catch him before anyone else gets hurt." Lacey lied.

"I have to cancel this trip. I can't leave knowing you'll be here alone while they're still looking for him." Judy rubbed her forehead and pulled out her phone to call into work and inform them she wouldn't be able to make it to New Jersey this weekend.

"No don't. This is a big opportunity for you. Besides, I'll be fine. I was going to go over to Jo's house. I figure she could use a friend right now. She's probably taking it really hard." Lacey silently prayed that this would assuage her mother's worries. Thankfully it seemingly did.

"Oh... Okay." Judy was a little surprised, given that her daughter and Jo Masterson weren't as close as they were before, but she wasn't going to question it. After all, the police chief's house was probably the safest place for her to be. "But I want you to call me tonight and check in."

"Of course." Lacey assured with a smile as her mom leaned in giving her a quick kiss on her cheek before leaving.

As soon as Judy left, Lacey let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and walked over to where Danny was hiding. "You can come out now."

"Going over to a police officer's house huh? Something tells me being counterintuitive in this situation isn't going to help." Danny looked at her incredulously as he stepped out of the closet.

"_You're_ not going over to the Masterson's. _I_ am. You're going back to the clubhouse while I talk Jo into coming with me to meet you there. We can't risk anyone overhearing us." Lacey clarified, searching for Jo's number in her contacts and dialing.

"Hello?" It was apparent that she had been crying by the sound of her voice.

"Can I come over? I told my mom I wouldn't stay home alone and I thought we could talk." Lacey watched Danny rummage through a shoebox he found in her closet. She motioned for him to stop, but he wasn't paying attention and she couldn't say anything without giving away that she wasn't alone.

"I guess, but I don't feel like talking." Jo mumbled from the other end. This was probably going to more difficult than she thought, especially if all Jo wanted to do was sulk.

"Okay, I'll be over in a bit." Lacey hung up and immediately pulled the box, labeled 'Letters', out of Danny's hands while he stared at her.

"You kept them." A smile formed on the tip of his lips as he lifted the folded piece of paper he was holding. "I thought you'd have thrown them away."

"Stop, Danny. We have more important things to worry about unless you want add to that box again." She quickly regretted what she said when she saw his smile disappear only to be replaced with an expression similar to the previous night. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that..."

"I'll let you get dressed." He swallowed, his throat tense, and brushed past her leaving her alone in the bedroom.

* * *

Sneaking Danny back to the clubhouse went smoothly as planned. He hid in the backseat of her car as she drove, and when they got there, she cleverly pulled over to _"check her tires"_ so he could slip into the woods unnoticed.

Lacey arrived at the Masterson's house and knocked on the door. She expected to see Jo, but it was Tess who greeted her.

"Lacey, Jo told me you were coming over. How are you holding up?" The older blonde gave her a sympathetic but nervous smile.

"I'm...okay. How's Jo?" Lacey asked what she already knew.

"She's having a hard time. She's in her room if you want to head on up." As much as Tess wanted to comfort her daughter and Lacey, she had her own plans to make; plans that were about to change everything in Green Grove.

* * *

Lacey tapped lightly on Jo's door before stepping in. She was laying on her bed facing the wall and her room looked like it was ravaged by a storm.

"Hey..." She spoke softly walking over to the bed.

"How are you so calm?" Jo sat up from where she was laying and narrowed her eyes at the other girl, "Because this is absolute hell for me. Does it just not affect you, or...?" Lacey could feel the ice in her words.

"I wanted to talk to you. Can we go for a walk? Go...vent about things?" She hoped Jo would catch on to what she meant.

"I really don't want to go anywhere, so just – "

"Please, Jo?" Lacey was getting frustrated, but she did her best to keep it from showing.

Jo stared at her for a moment then rolled her eyes and got up to grab her jacket.

The walk to the clubhouse began in silence, until Jo started to get irritated. "Mind telling me why we're walking all the way to the woods just so you can tell me your feelings?"

"This isn't about me, Jo. There's something I have to show you. I'll explain everything, you just have to trust me." Lacey ducked under a branch as they approached their destination.

"Trust? Yeah, because we know what happened the last time I trusted you." Jo stopped dead in her tracks when she looked through the entrance of the clubhouse. Danny was the last person she expected to see. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words escaped her.

"Hey Jo..." Danny started carefully poking at the small fire he had started.

Lacey decided she needed to explain quickly before the blonde had a chance to react. "He didn't do it Jo, someone is setting him up. But we can't let anyone find him until we can put together some solid evidence to prove his innocence."

"You went to her first? Well...Why am I not surprised?" Jo shifted her eyes to glare at Danny.

"Look we can argue about this later." Lacey cut in, trying to put the focus back on what's important.

"So they find a murder weapon, with his fingerprints all over it, but now you suddenly believe everything he says?" Jo looked at Lacey as if she was some kind of mutant.

"I wanted to wait until you were both here... But last night – before you snuck into my room – Phoebe came over and we were talking when she told me something about Regina. Regina told Sarita and I that they got into a fight and Phoebe scratched her so hard she drew blood, but when I asked her about it, Phoebe said she never scratched her. Then she remembered Regina showed up to school in a car with Connecticut license plates. She saw the scratch when she got out of the car. Whoever was in that car has to be the person that killed her."

The three sat in silence as Danny and Jo processed the new information. Jo finally spoke up, saying what they were all thinking.

"We need to go back to Connecticut...back to that apartment. We need to do more digging into Marna Inc."

"We can't. Not without looking really suspicious. If they have any idea that we're hiding Danny, we're screwed." Lacey sighed running a hand through her hair.

"I think I know someone who can help." Danny looked up, his eyes darting between Lacey and Jo.


End file.
